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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Yoon says state should intervene in distorted markets after KakaoTalk disruption

President Yoon Suk-yeol speaks to reporters as he arrives at the presidential office in Seoul, Oct. 17. YonhapPresident Yoon Suk-yeol said Monday the antitrust watchdog is looking into the issue of top mobile messenger KakaoTalk dominating Korea's mobile messenger market, after the service ground to a halt due to a server outage over the weekend.A fire started the outage at a data center used by Kaka, the messenger app's operator, on Saturday afternoon, causing major disruptions to everything from everyday communication to ride-hailing and public services tied to the app.The weekend standstill exposed a major vulnerability in one of the world's most wired nations, leading to questions about Kakao's dominance in the communication market and the need for government intervention to address structural flaws."I'm a believer in a free market economy that respects the freedom and creativity of businesses, but that is premised on the market rationally distributing resources and income according to a fair and competitive system," Yoon told reporters as he arrived for work."If the market is di

Oct 17, 2022
Yoon says state should intervene in distorted markets after KakaoTalk disruption
  • Kakao service disruptions cause nationwide mayhem
  • Shares in Kakao tumble 8% after nationwide service disruption
  • Seoul shares open sharply lower after US stock plunge
  • Kakao ready for complete recovery nearly 2 days after fire

Argentina promises to support Korean businesses in raw material development

Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, poses for a photo with Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez at the presidential office in Buenos Aires on Oct. 14. YonhapArgentina has promised to provide full support to Korean companies seeking to expand their raw material development as Seoul wants deeper ties in the economy and trade, officials said Friday.Prime Minister Han Duck-soo arrived in Argentina on Thursday for an official visit, as Seoul seeks to deepen economic cooperation with the resource-rich Latin American nation. Han's visit came as the two nations mark the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties. Han held talks with Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez and discussed measures to improve cooperation in various fields, including economic security, according to Han's office. Argentina boasts the world's third-largest lithium resources and is the world's fourth-biggest producer of lithium. Korea imported about 40 percent of its corn and some 33 percent of its soybean oil from Argentina last year. POSCO, Korea's top steelmaker, plans to spend $830 million in Arge

Oct 15, 2022
Argentina promises to support Korean businesses in raw material development

Main opposition leader sends letter to Biden, key figures over IRA

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung speaks at a party meeting held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Oct. 15. YonhapThe leader of Korea's main opposition party has sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden calling for a quick revision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) expected to hurt Korean automakers' foothold in the world's most important market, party officials said Saturday.Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Lee Jae-myung also sent letters to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other U.S. officials on Oct. 1, according to the officials.In the letter, Lee delivered concerns over the IRA and called for measures to resolve the issue, including a revision of discriminatory clauses and suspending the implementation of the law.The IRA, signed by Biden in August, calls for giving subsidies to those who buy electric vehicles only if the cars were assembled in North America.The law will also require EVs to be equipped with batteries made with a certain portion of minerals mined or processed in the U.S., or countries or regions that have free t

Oct 15, 2022
Main opposition leader sends letter to Biden, key figures over IRA

Ex-Coast Guard chief quizzed over slain fisheries official case

In this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, a North Korean flag flutters in the wind at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea on Oct. 4. AFP-YonhapProsecutors questioned a former chief of the Coast Guard on Friday as part of their investigation into the previous administration's handling of the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea.The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office summoned former Commissioner General Kim Hong-hee, who at the time was responsible for an investigation into the death.Prosecutors have been looking into allegations that the Moon Jae-in administration at the time concluded without sufficient evidence that the official was killed while attempting to defect to the North.The 47-year-old fisheries official, Lee Dae-jun, was fatally shot by the North's coast guard near the Yellow Sea border between the two Koreas, a day after going missing while on duty on board a fishery inspection vessel.The Moon government concluded the official was sh

Oct 14, 2022
Ex-Coast Guard chief quizzed over slain fisheries official case

Former ambassador to Egypt appointed new envoy to Britain

People walk outside the Bank of England in the financial district of the City of London, Oct. 13. AP-YonhapYoon Yeo-cheol, former ambassador to Egypt, was appointed South Korea's new top envoy to Britain, the foreign ministry said Friday.Yoon started his diplomatic career in 1985, and has worked in various sectors in the Foreign Ministry and its overseas missions, including in the United States and the Republic of Cote D'Ivoire.He served as chief of protocol at the United Nations in 2012, assisting then Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and served the same role at the South Korean presidential office in 2016. Yoon was named the ambassador to Egypt in 2018.Yoo Jeh-seung, former deputy minister of the Ministry of National Defense, will take the top diplomatic post at the country's mission to the United Arab Emirates.Yeo Seung-bae, former deputy minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was picked as the new ambassador to Malaysia, while Keum Chang-rok, former consul-general at the Korean consulate general in Frankfurt, will serve as South Korea's new head diplomat in Switzerland. (Yonh

Oct 14, 2022
Former ambassador to Egypt appointed new envoy to Britain

DPK slams state auditor for becoming Yoon's 'pawn' over inspection into slain official

Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) Chair Choe Jae-hae, center, arrives for work at the BAI headquarters in Seoul on Oct. 14. YonhapThe main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Friday slammed the state auditor for becoming a "pawn" of the Yoon Suk-yeol government, a day after the institution referred former officials in the previous administration to prosecutors over the killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korea in 2020. Following a two-month inspection into the Moon Jae-in government's handling of the official's death near the Yellow Sea border, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) requested the prosecution investigate 20 people on charges that include power abuse and document forgery.The list reportedly includes top security officials of the Moon administration, such as former National Security Adviser Suh Hoon, former National Intelligence Service chief Park Jie-won and former Defense Minister Suh Wook.The DPK, which has criticized the inspections for being politically motivated, accused the state auditor for compromising its independence and neutral

Oct 14, 2022
DPK slams state auditor for becoming Yoon's 'pawn' over inspection into slain official
  • Family of late fisheries official slams state for failing to protect citizens

Ex-Defense Minister Suh Wook questioned over slain fisheries official case

Former Defense Minister Suh Wook / Korea Times fileProsecutors questioned former Defense Minister Suh Wook from the previous administration Thursday as part of their investigation into the 2020 death of a South Korean fisheries official at the hands of North Korea. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office is looking into allegations the Moon Jae-in administration concluded without sufficient evidence that the official was killed while attempting to defect to the North.Critics have accused the Moon administration of drawing the conclusion to curry favor with Pyongyang.It marks the first time for the prosecution to question a high-ranking official from the Moon government.Prosecutors suspect that confidential documents from the defense ministry and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) were deleted following the official's death.The investigation also centers on allegations that Park Jie-won, a former head of the NIS, and his predecessor, Suh Hoon, destroyed intelligence documents.Prosecutors are expected to summon the two former NIS chiefs sometime soon for questioning.The 47-

Oct 13, 2022
Ex-Defense Minister Suh Wook questioned over slain fisheries official case

Prosecution unit on fiscal crimes assigned to probe Moon's solar panels project

This image, provided by an office of the Office of Government Policy Coordination under the prime minister, shows solar panels. YonhapA newly established prosecution unit on fiscal crimes will take over the investigation into allegations of corruption involving a government-funded solar panel project launched under the previous administration to enhance renewable energy generation, sources said Thursday.The move follows findings by an office under the prime minister last month that identified 2,267 cases of irregularities in the spending of government funds set aside under the previous Moon Jae-in administration to promote the installation of solar panels. The office found that such irregularities led to the misappropriation of about 261.6 billion won ($183.2 million) of the funds, and has since requested the Supreme Prosecutors Office look into 1,265 of the cases on suspicions of illegally pocketing subsidies or loans out of the public purse. Legal sources said the Supreme Prosecutors Office was to assign some of the requested cases to the fiscal crime investigation unit Thursday. I

Oct 13, 2022
Prosecution unit on fiscal crimes assigned to probe Moon's solar panels project

Ruling party chief calls for stronger US nuclear umbrella against N. Korean provocations

Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the interim chief of the ruling People Power Party, speaks at a party emergency response meeting in the southern city of Daegu, Oct. 13. YonhapRuling party leader Chung Jin-suk called Thursday for significantly bolstering the U.S. nuclear umbrella for South Korea to cope with intensifying nuclear threats from North Korea.Chung issued the call a day after he called for scrapping a 1991 inter-Korean declaration on denuclearization, stressing that strengthening the alliance with the U.S. is the only feasible option to deter the North."It should not be overlooked that North Korea's recent missile provocations involve not just ballistic missiles but 'tactical nuke' simulations," Rep. Chung of the People Power Party (PPP) said. "We need to take all necessary measures in terms of defense and security." "Reinforcing the South Korea-U.S. military alliance like an iron wall is the only solution. We need to dramatically strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence, or the nuclear umbrella, and these matters should be discussed as central issues between the two countries."Calls ha

Oct 13, 2022
Ruling party chief calls for stronger US nuclear umbrella against N. Korean provocations
  • N. Korean leader inspects long-range cruise missile launches by 'tactical nuke' units

Seoul mayor scrutinizes whether predecessor tried to evade UN sanctions to help North Korea via cryptocurrency

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon answers questions during the National Assembly audit of the city government at the city hall, central Seoul, Wednesday. YonhapBy Kang Hyun-kyungSeoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said on Wednesday that he would thoroughly look into the allegation that his predecessor, late former Mayor Park Won-soon, tried to evade sanctions to help North Korea build a cryptocurrency research center there. Park was found dead at Mount Bugak on July 10, hours after he vanished. If any violations are found, Oh said he will request the law enforcement authorities to investigate the case. “As of now, I have no information about to what extent the city government was involved in the cryptocurrency project during the former mayor's leadership period,” Oh said during the National Assembly audit of the city government, adding that he came to know about the city government's alleged involvement in the project through media reports on the National Assembly audit of the Ministry of Justice. “I was told that in the city government, there were no working-level staff who contacted Nor

Oct 12, 2022By Kang Hyun-kyung
Seoul mayor scrutinizes whether predecessor tried to evade UN sanctions to help North Korea via cryptocurrency
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